Characteristics of Nonresponders to a Patient Satisfaction Survey at Discharge From Psychiatric Hospitals

The study compared the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients treated in the 31 psychiatric hospitals in Japan who did and did not return a satisfaction survey at discharge. Of the 471 patients discharged in a one-month period, 364 agreed to participate. A total of 235 turned in completed forms, 91 turned in incomplete forms, and 38 did not return the form. The latter two groups were defined as nonresponders. Nonresponders were significantly older than responders, but no significant differences were found between the two groups in diagnosis and other demographic characteristics. Responders and incomplete responders had significantly higher scores on the Global Assessment of Functioning scale than those who did not return the survey.